Visual field asymmetries and allocation of attention in visual scenes

Single items such as objects, letters or words are often presented in the right or left visual field to examine hemispheric differences in cognitive processing. However, in everyday life, such items appear within a visual context or scene that affects how they are represented and selected for attention. Here we examine processing asymmetries for a visual target within a frame of other elements (scene). We are especially interested in whether the allocation of visual attention affects the asymmetries, and in whether attention-related asymmetries occur in scenes oriented out of alignment with the viewer. In Experiment 1, visual field asymmetries were affected by the validity of a spatial precue in an upright frame. In Experiment 2, the same pattern of asymmetries occurred within frames rotated 90 degrees on the screen. In Experiment 3, additional sources of the spatial asymmetries were explored. We conclude that several left/right processing asymmetries, including some associated with the deployment of spatial attention, can be organized within scenes, in the absence of differential direct access to the two hemispheres.     

Effects of death within 11 years on cognitive performance in old age

Six different cognitive tests and the Heck Depression Inventory (BDI) were given to 3,572 active community residents aged 49 to 93 years. Causes of death were ascertained for 443 who died between 36 and 3,903 days later. Subsequent survival predicted test scores during the 3,903 days and independently during Days 36 to 1,826 and Days 1,827 to 3,903. Scores on the BDI and cumulative verbal learning and vocabulary tests predicted mortality after demographics and performance on other cognitive tests had been considered. Predictors were similar for deaths from heart disease, malignancies, and other causes. A new finding that cognitive tests did not predict survival duration within the sample of deceased explains previous findings of greater terminal decline in performance for young than for elderly adults.     

Proportionality,Terminal Suffering and the Restorative Goals of Medicine

Recent years have witnessed a growing concern that terminally ill patients are needlessly suffering in the dying process. This has led to demands that physicians become more attentive in the assessment of suffering and that they treat their patients as 'whole persons.' For the most part, these demands have not fallen on deaf ears. It is now widely accepted that the relief of suffering is one of the fundamental goals of medicine. Without question this is a positive development. However, while the importance of treating suffering has generally been acknowledged, insufficient attention has been paid to the question of whether different types of terminal suffering require different responses from health care professionals. In this paper we introduce a distinction between two types of suffering likely to be present at the end of life, and we argue that physicians must distinguish between these types if they are to respond appropriately to the suffering of their terminally ill patients. After introducing this distinction and explaining its basis, we further argue that the distinction informs a (novel) principle of proportionality, one that should guide physicians in balancing their competing obligations in responding to terminal suffering. As we explain, this principle is justified by reference to the interests terminally ill patients have in restoration, as well as in the relief of suffering, at the end of life.     

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy

This article presents acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) as a spiritually integrated therapeutic modality. ACT is a value‐driven therapy that involves facilitating transcendence of physical, mental, and emotional experience to alleviate human suffering; as such, ACT shares common ground with the domain of spirituality. Approached as a spiritually integrated therapy, ACT can help clients to access spiritual resources and create life meaning as well as aid in the resolution or transformation of spiritual struggles. Given that spiritual struggles, in particular, can have a significant impact on mental health and well‐being, this article provides guidance in how ACT can address such struggles.     

Threat perception after the Boston Marathon bombings: The effects of personal relevance and conceptual framing

We examined how the Boston Marathon bombings affected threat perception in the Boston community. In a threat perception task, participants attempted to “shoot” armed targets and avoid shooting unarmed targets. Participants viewing images of the bombings accompanied by affectively negative music and text (e.g., “Terror Strikes Boston”) made more false alarms (i.e., more errors “shooting” unarmed targets) compared to participants viewing the same images accompanied by affectively positive music and text (e.g., “Boston Strong”) and participants who did not view bombing images. This difference appears to be driven by decreased sensitivity (i.e., decreased ability to distinguish guns from non-guns) as opposed to a more liberal bias (i.e., favouring the “shoot” response). Additionally, the more strongly affected the participant was by the bombings, the more their sensitivity was reduced in the negatively framed condition, suggesting that this framing was particularly detrimental to the most vulnerable individuals in the affected community.     

Challenging gender stereotypes: Theory of mind and peer group dynamics

To investigate the social cognitive skills related to challenging gender stereotypes, children (N = 61, 3–6 years) evaluated a peer who challenged gender stereotypic norms held by the peer's group. Participants with false belief theory of mind (FB ToM) competence were more likely than participants who did not have FB ToM to expect a peer to challenge the group's stereotypes and propose that the group engage in a non‐stereotypic activity. Further, participants with FB ToM rated challenging the peer group more positively. Participants without FB ToM did not differentiate between their own and the group's evaluation of challenges to the group's stereotypic norms, but those with ToM competence asserted that they would be more supportive of challenging the group norm than would the peer group. Results reveal the importance of social‐cognitive competencies for recognizing the legitimacy of challenging stereotypes, and for understanding one's own and other group perspectives.     

A Walk Down the Lane Gives Wings to Your Brain. Restorative Benefits of Rest Breaks on Cognition and Self‐Control

We investigated the effect of rest breaks on mental‐arithmetic performance, examining performance as a function of the factor rest, time‐on‐task, and demand. We asked the following questions: (i) Does rest (vs a continuous‐work condition) improve cognitive performance? (ii) Is active rest (taking a walk) better than passive rest (watching a video)? (iii) Do compensatory effects of rest increase with time‐at‐work? (iv) Are there differential effects of rest on automatic and controlled processes? (v) Are there differential effects of rest on performance speed versus variability? The results indicate that while rest is generally beneficial for performance, these benefits are similar for active and passive rest. The benefits increase with time‐on‐task and are larger for high (vs low) demand. Further, the effects on average response speed originated only partially from a reduction in the probability of attentional failure, as indicated by reaction‐time (ex‐Gaussian model) distributional and delta‐plot analysis.Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.